Pilgrims flock en masse for Ganges religious festival

A devotee prays at sunrise at the confluence of the Yamuna and Ganges rivers during the Kumbh Mela in India.

AFP: Roberto Schmidt

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims led by naked ash-covered holy men have streamed into the sacred river Ganges for the start of the world's biggest religious festival.

The Kumbh Mela, in the Indian town of Allahabad, will see up to 100 million Hindus gather over the next 55 days to take a ritual bath in the holy waters, believed to cleanse sins and bestow blessings.

Before daybreak hundreds of gurus, some brandishing swords and tridents, ran into the swirling and freezing waters for the first bath, signalling the start of events.

Assorted dreadlocked holy men, seers and self-proclaimed saints from all over the country assembled for the colourful and chaotic spectacle that offers a rare glimpse of the dizzying range of Indian spiritualism.

"I am ecstatic. When I enter the Ganges I feel so happy, it's a feeling I can't explain," said Mokshanand, a heavily bearded guru who emerged from the water in a small pair of saffron-coloured underpants.

For most ordinary Indians, the Kumbh Mela is a religious holiday enjoyed in an almost carnival atmosphere, where prayers and blessings are offered and sought alongside family or friends camping together at the vast festival site.

The hardships of being squeezed in vast crowds, enduring endless whistling and barked orders from thousands of policemen and even catching a cold in the chilly January weather are seen as a price worth paying for a dip.

"You feel somewhat connected to somebody who is there above, and that's what it's all about," said Mayank Pandey, a 35-year-old computer science professor.

The Kumbh Mela takes place every 12 years in Allahabad in north India's Uttar Pradesh state, with smaller but similar events every three years in other locations around India.

It has its origins in Hindu mythology, which tells how a few drops of the nectar of immortality fell on the four places that host the festival - Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.

For men like Ram Krishna Verma, a 42-year-old farmer from the state of Chattisgarh who has travelled 700 kilometres, it is a time of solemn duty as he has come to scatter the ashes of his late mother.

"She died two months ago. This is the final resting place." Mr Verma said.

The "Mother Ganges" is worshipped as a god and is seen as both the giver and taker of life - most devotees dunk their heads under the water, while some drink it and others bottle it and take it home as gifts.

Police expect 250,000 people today and and organisers are estimating at total of 100 million people to attend the festival.

They have set up 35,000 toilets, 14 medical centres, 22,000 street lights, 150 kilometres of temporary roads, 18 bridges and new sewerage facilities.